CodeValue

Magen Margalit Appointed as VP Digital at CodeValue

Posted on by Techtime

CodeValue, a prominent technology company traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE:SPDV), is thrilled to announce the appointment of Magen Margalit as CDO (Chief Digital Officer). Magen joins CodeValue, bringing with him nearly two decades of profound experience in the technological landscape.

In his new role, Magen will spearhead initiatives aimed at enhancing organizational capabilities through the strategic integration and intelligent utilization of digital platforms and tools.

Prior to joining CodeValue, Magen served a remarkable 19 years at Bank Hapoalim, where he played pivotal roles in various technological capacities. Notably, he led the modernization and innovation system, overseeing approximately 250 employees and driving the establishment of a cutting-edge cloud-based architecture. Magen also played a key role in shaping the digital transformation landscape within the organization.

Among his achievements at Bank Hapoalim, Magen led a collaborative effort with the Bank of Israel, the board of directors, and the IT division to establish a new computer center. His responsibilities extended to managing procurement agreements, navigating technological crises, and implementing disaster recovery strategies.

Magen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a specialization in bioinformatics from Tel Aviv Academic College and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a focus on technology and entrepreneurship from Tel Aviv University. Additionally, he has completed directors’ training on behalf of Tel Aviv University.

Tali Shem Tov, CEO of CodeValue, expressed her confidence in Magen’s ability to lead the company’s digital transformation efforts. “Magen was chosen to lead the digital transformation of the company’s customers, ensuring the right solutions are tailored to organizations from a broad perspective. His expertise in implementing modern architecture, coupled with his strategic approach to organizational and business processes, will undoubtedly bring significant business value to CodeValue and its customers.”

In response to his appointment, Magen Margalit shared his excitement about this new chapter, stating, “After almost 20 satisfying years at Bank Hapoalim, I am thrilled to embark on a new path with CodeValue. I express my gratitude to Tali Shem Tov for the trust she places in me. Particularly during these challenging times, organizations require swift adaptability to create new services while ensuring business continuity. I am eager to contribute to these processes and make CodeValue my second home.”

 

Will AI replace the programmer? Not so fast

Posted on by Techtime

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing automation, and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are at the forefront. These models showcase impressive capabilities in generating textual and graphic content and engaging in interactive dialogues with humans. The application of AI in areas such as sales, customer service, and teaching is expanding, transforming professions we never thought computers could perform.

Code, being a language itself, is abundant on the web, presenting a vast pool of data with which neural networks can be trained to code on demand. This automation initially appeared with GitHub Co-pilot and is now further exemplified by ChatGPT 4, which can automatically generate code for any task.

In our technology-driven world, programming has become one of the most sought-after and esteemed professions. However, an ironic question arises: Can AI replace programmers?

Nir Dobovizki, a senior software architect at CodeValue, has embraced tools like ChatGPT as part of his programming routine. While these tools are impressive and make a programmer’s life more convenient, they do not pose a threat to their jobs, according to Nir.

Nir emphasizes the need to break down the concept of “artificial intelligence.” He views it as a marketing term, clarifying that there is no manifestation of true intelligence, understanding, or knowledge in these tools. They are statistical instruments, albeit remarkable ones. AI lacks the genuine ability to differentiate between truth and falsehood, or to distinguish facts on its own.

“For me, one of the primary purposes of code is effective communication to fellow programmers, ensuring they understand my intentions beyond mere functionality. Code is akin to a story, and clarity matters. These tools, although capable of performing tasks, often lack style, hindering collaborative coding efforts.”

So how does one effectively utilize these tools?

“It’s undoubtedly an automated tool that offers significant assistance—an advancement in automation. However, I only use it for tasks I’m familiar with. If it’s something I’m unsure about, I won’t be able to verify whether the AI has executed it correctly. I rely on these tools for problems I comprehend, saving me considerable typing and providing confidence in the accuracy of the written code.”

The term “artificial intelligence” itself poses challenges, obscuring the creation and operation of these models. Nir Dobovizki highlights that each model and neural network is a product of the data used to train and validate it. Training these models necessitates abundant and high-quality data, with the exact quantity being uncertain in advance. It’s a process of trial and error, with verification playing a vital role. However, biases can emerge at both the training and verification stages, leading to gender and ethnic biases in certain applications like facial recognition systems that excel at identifying white individuals but fail with Black individuals. Bias stems from the data used for training and validation.

Nir Dobovizki

“Perfect verification is essentially impossible; biases may persist due to how we test the model. Therefore, involving humans in the training and operational processes is crucial for vigilance and error correction. We must exercise great caution, particularly when dealing with systems that impact human life, such as autonomous driving systems. Any bias within such systems could jeopardize human safety.”

At present, these tools are incapable of coding complex tasks requiring a deep understanding of multifaceted interactions. These challenges remain exclusively within the realm of skilled and experienced programmers. Even when these tools generate convincing code for intricate problems and perform well in a development environment, there is no way to ensure they are free from critical bugs. These tools empower programmers and may reduce the required workforce, but they are far from replacing programmers, both in their capabilities and in the foreseeable future.

In conclusion, AI-driven tools have ushered in a new era of automation in programming, amplifying the capabilities of programmers while preserving their indispensable role in tackling complex challenges. The collaborative efforts of humans and AI continue to shape the future of programming, offering promising prospects for enhanced productivity and innovation.

[Pictured above: OpenAI HQ. Source: Wiki]

Outsourcing trends for a turbulent 2023

Posted on by Techtime

By Leehee Gerti, VP Marketing at CodeValue

The global IT outsourcing market is projected to reach USD 407.29 billion by 2023, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc*. This growth will be driven mainly by increased demand for cloud-based services, automation of business processes, and other cost-saving benefits. Furthermore, the increasing adoption of Internet of thing (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies are expected to provide a significant boost to the IT outsourcing market.

In addition, the increasing adoption of open-source software, the growing need for application modernization, and the rising demand for data privacy and security are expected to further fuel the demand for IT outsourcing services in the near future.

Outsourcing gives companies a competitive advantage by reducing operational costs, enabling staffing flexibility, and saving time. Because of these benefits, more companies opt to outsource business processes, prompting outsourcing market growth.

Here are the key trends to watch out for in 2023:

Strategic partnership – Companies now believe a strong strategic partnership with fewer outsourcing companies can ensure business continuity and operational cost savings. A singular (or fewer) outsourcing partner enables stronger business relationships, increases transparency, and induces trust which, in turn, makes reaching objectives easier. Additionally, companies can ensure continuity with an outsourcing partner through a more extended outsourcing contract.

Global delivery – in an analysis published by Deloitte they state that following the Covid pandemic more and more companies are prompted to adopt flexible working methods. The necessity to be agile, the ability to find the specific talent and expertise wherever it is – because in the new world, geography carries no weight. Another study by Gertner reveals “Talent Shortages as Biggest Barrier to Emerging Technologies Adoption”. With the Global delivery approach, the ability to work with the best experts from anywhere and at any time opens the game and expands the bandwidth of relevant players.

Modern Technologies – as the old saying goes “do what you do best, outsource the rest”, this saying stand its ground with software development as well. An outsource service provider is an expert in their specific field. As a result, they’re more likely to update themselves about the advancements in technology than an in-house team.

Startup surge – Outsourcing allows small businesses or startups to access the best talents and tools at economical prices. These businesses outsource repetitive tasks to save time and money. Small companies are also less likely to have experienced employees due to their limited payroll budget, and outsourcing enables them to access the best talents.

Go east (Europe) – Revenue in the Eastern Europe “IT Outsourcing” segment was projected to reach US$2.69bn in 2022. And revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 17.17%, resulting in a market volume of US$5.94bn by 2027****. Companies in North America like the United States prefer East European countries, like Romania, Ukraine, Poland, and Belarus, for IT outsourcing due to their proficiency in English and cultural similarity. 

Also, Eastern Europe has a high percentage of skilled people (including tech professionals), affordable talent, and strong data security.

To conclude, outsourcing IT projects in 2023 would be a wise decision for companies who want to save on costs, benefit from access to a global talent pool, and take advantage of the latest technology. Companies should carefully evaluate and compare their options, and select a vendor that can provide reliable, secure, and high-quality services. Doing so will ensure that the project is completed on time, within budget, and with the desired results.

Esti Felba Hermesh to head CodeValue off-shore arm

Posted on by Techtime

Software development services company CodeValue has announced that Esti Felba Hermesh has been appointed as CodeValue’s Offshore Director and will lead the company’s operations in Eastern Europe.

Esti is 45 years old and has over 15 years of experience in business development, customer management, project management and sales in a wide range of companies in the field of Technology Services. As part of her role, Esti will be responsible for building and managing the Offshore operations of CodeValue in Eastern Europe, building a tailored service package, mapping tech capabilities in different countries, defining requirements, building an entity, creating collaborations with local vendors, programming software acquisition programs and IT.

In her previous role she served as the Director of the Medical and Industry Security Division and was responsible for managing the Delivery team and building bootcamps to grow the next generations of developers. Esti holds a BA in Film, Television and Education from Tel Aviv University

Tali Shem Tov, CEO of CodeValue: “CodeValue Offshore is sort of a  start-up within CodeValue we see it as one of our main growth engines for the expansion of the company’s operations around the world. The need for developers is massive, SCALE has become a common term spoken among executives in tech companies and one of their great painpoints. Due to lack of developers in Israel and in view of the ever rising need, extending CodeValue reach to encompass talented developers in Eastern Europe is the best solution for our customers. Esti brings with her a lot of experience and talent, and I have no doubt that she will reach the fulfillment of our business goals in no time. ”

CodeValue, founded in 2010, is a services company delivering supreme architectural and technical expertise and in-depth consultancy. We integrate product & design research in our development process, provide managed software and cloud solution, and offer customized training programs to bridge knowledge gaps.

Aliya 2.0, doing it right

Posted on by Techtime

By Leehee Gerti, VP Marketing at CodeValue

A melting pot. A land of refuge, the only homeland for people of Jewish heritage. That is what modern-day Israel IS. It’s been 30 years since the last big wave of “Aliya” (immigration to Israel) when over 1 million people from the former USSR made their new home here in the land of milk and honey. Education, science, creativity, and innovation have been the cornerstone of the new founded land straight form its inception, that is true enough, but what that wave of Aliya brought with it is a different culture that sanctifies hard work, uncompromising compliance with goals, and deep exploration.

The merger between the two, the method versus ad-hoc, the planning versus “it’ll be okay”, these have made Israel a global high-tech super-power and one of the strongest economies in the world.   

The war in Eastern Europe presents us with a new challenge, a potential pool of tens of thousands of people entitled to immigration under the “Law of Return”. A genetic and cultural repository similar to that of the immigrants of the 1990s. If we are smart enough to prepare properly, embrace, understand the difficulties and provide a quality integration infrastructure – the potential benefits are massive.

When the 1990’s immigrants entered the Israeli labor market, their labor productivity fell. This is because they – as with any immigrant – suffered from the “Kuznets effect”. Simon Kuznets, a well-known Jewish economist from Harvard and one of the first to calculate the GNP, found that when immigrants arrive in a new country, their earning capacity drops by 50% to 70%, and it takes them 20 years to return to earning level that is appropriate to their level of education. 

We do not have that time nor privilege.

In the last year or so, we’ve been experiencing a massive workforce shortage in the Israeli high-tech industry. It is estimated that there are anywhere between 10,000 to 25,000 open development positions waiting to be filled. 

Many companies have put a lot of effort into narrowing the gaps between what is required and what is available. At my company CodeValue, for example, we conducted several Techboost rounds in which we identified and recruited people with potential and love of tech’ but lacking sufficient experience – and trained them in modern technologies to suit current market requirements. 

Such initiatives need to be replicated and adapted in order to accommodate the potential immigrants from Ukraine and Russia. High-tech companies and other prominent employers need to join hands with government organizations and NGOs whose goal is to promote immigration and integration. Let us map out the needs of the immigrants, their abilities, and professional aspirations and at the same time establish a unified system that will incorporate specific jobs and open positions that may suit the immigrants’ professional interests, language, and culture. We need to shorten processes, streamline procedures, and get going… fast.

History presents us with a unique opportunity. Rare coincidence complied of global epidemic aftershock – which has pushed forward the digital transformation revolution, A country that has put its trust in the high-tech industry, and a well-educated, hard-working workforce looking for a new home to thrive in. 

“Midas touch” or “Is it for real?” 

Posted on by Techtime

By Leehee Gerti, Director of Marketing at CodeValue

In recent months, the media has been buzzing with news items about huge salaries and dreamy working conditions in the Israeli high-tech market. Highways sidelines and the entrance to High-tech industrial parks have become a billboard war zone, the TV ad breaks are dominated by the industry giants, radio broadcasts, International DJs perform in rooftop parties. What the hell is going on here?

Welcome to the jungle. Here, too, the strong will survive and by survival, I mean – succeed in recruiting talents to expand its workforce and meet the ambitious development goals to which it committed in the last of IPO. We are only at the beginning of the post-corona era and perhaps it is too early to reach conclusions about the lessons and processes that this plague has taught us. But one fact stands out and cannot be disputed – the corona plague has caused an unprecedented wave of technology adoption by businesses across all spectrums of the industry.

There is a lot of money in the market, and it is flowing directly to high-tech companies. They in turn formulate ambitious development goals and desperately need working hands that will write all this code. In other words, companies dealing with wage inflation in the super-competitive field. Established and Unicorn companies with gigantic budgets are pushing up the entire market. These terrain conditions combined with the characteristics of the Millennials/X/y/Z generation (and whatever comes after), creates a ticking time bomb.

“What is the problem?” “The time has come for the power to be in the hands of the workers and not of the corporates.” “If there is a lot of money in the market, it is better for it to reach the last link in the chain – the employee.”

This is all true. But..

As in any industry, the big, rich companies are at the front. But the locomotive that pulls this train forward is the medium and small size companies. Israel is a startup super-power, from these initiatives comes innovation and technological creativity, how long can they stay in the game when the basic conditions become so difficult? The entire industry needs to understand that until we can fill the ranks by investing in infrastructure, technological education in the periphery and encouraging employment in marginal sectors, there is an immediate need to change the conditions of the game. Here are 3 (well tested) ways to maximize the workforce and meet business objectives:

  • Expanding employed ad-hoc – creating condensed tech’ bootcamps (here at CodeValue they are called Techboost). Locating and recruiting employees with some technological background and high independent learning abilities and training them, by experts, in modern and required technologies. It really does work, we at CodeValue are already in the third cycle of exactly this type of training and all the graduates are already employed in our various projects within the best companies in the market.
  • Widening R&D departments with organic teams – Companies that provide development services have qualified and available manpower and a layer of experienced tech’ managers who can provide an immediate solution to meet development goals. An organic team derived from the dev’ services company, receives a development task from the client and fills it in to its completion. The customer, on the other hand, is not required to locate, recruit and train employees, which is time-consuming, nor is it required for administrative and logistical management. It only receives outputs without the unnecessary fuss.
  • Hybrid offshore – This is not a new idea, many companies turn to hire the services of dev’ teams/individuals from the developing world (Eastern Europe, Asia). Many companies have tried and burned since the quality of code is not always at the required level and the language and cultural barriers are also extremely difficult to surpass. The hybrid solution addresses exactly these pain points. We are talking about an Israeli team leader, an expert in his/her field, who directly manages and professionally guides the foreign development team that was handpicked and carefully trained by him/her. This skips over the failures of managing a foreign and remote team and manages to reduce the time to market significantly.

Times are challenging and great power can be intoxicating. Remember how we were really scared just a year and a half ago? That there was uncertainty in the market and many companies were quick to “release” their employees? 40+ industry veterans also remember the .com era at the turn of the century. On that time too the market seemed to play into the favor of the worker, but then the bubble bursts or the plague erupts and the companies that chased after you and wrapped you with pampering benefits are turning their backs and leaving you behind. So, when the skies are blue and no cloud in sight, it might be a good idea to buy an umbrella?

CodeValue, founded in 2010, is a services company delivering architectural and technical expertise and in-depth consultancy. CodeValue integrate product & design research in our development process, provide managed software and cloud solution, and offer customized training programs to bridge knowledge gaps.